Floor plan and orientation of a single-family house – Opinions/Assessment

Hello everyone,

I (35), my wife (34) and our son (2) decided a year ago to purchase a 618 sqm plot of land in a new development area on the outskirts of a German city.

Since the development work is currently in full swing and the start of construction will probably be delayed by up to a year.

Early on, we committed to a German prefab house provider and were referred to an architect through them. After several discussions with the architect, we have now received a design that we find quite successful for our taste (although the window planning still needs to be revised).

Since we are quite inexperienced in this area, I would like to ask for your opinions on the floor plan and the orientation of the house.

Brief description of the house:

planned is a detached single-family house with approx. 150 sqm with a gable roof and a knee wall of 1.60m
without a basement and without a fireplace
wish was/is a straight staircase and a shower/toilet on the ground floor and a dressing room on the upper floor

about the plot:

618 sqm
the building envelope is practically everywhere while observing the 3 m boundary distance
garages can be set directly on the boundary
special feature: access to the plot is only possible via the 3.5 m wide driveway







Thanks in advance for your suggestions

What does the development of the neighboring properties look like?

I would print the property out quite large and create the garage and the house to scale out of cardboard. Then you can easily move everything around and think about how it fits.

How does the house get onto the property? How is the garage/carport planned?

Basically, a walk-in closet without an exit is not ideal, and the kitchen situation with the door is also not ideal. However, I can’t think of an alternative off the top of my head. In any case, you should swap the shower with the toilet on the upper floor. And I would move the partition wall in the living room by 20/30 cm. This could possibly be a half-height drywall in case it becomes bothersome later. Children’s room window somewhat wider.

Where will the washing machine and dryer go? Where do the ironing board and vacuum cleaner go?

You are already addressing our main problem. We are still unsure about how to place the house on the property. We have several options here, but at the moment we have not yet agreed.

One version would be this one. The problem is that since we can only access the property via the 3.50 m wide driveway, we would have to pave a large area because of the steering angle of the cars and the access to the house.

Another alternative: garage directly facing the driveway. Then, of course, a path from the garage to the house would have to go across half the garden.

Are there any suggestions on how we can better place the house on the property?


: You are right, the kitchen situation with the door is not ideal. Our architect was also not satisfied with it but could not offer anything better. Maybe you have another idea? And what do you mean by the trapped walk-in closet? Could you please explain that again?

The partition wall in the living room should actually extend to the ceiling, the 20/30 cm then at the expense of the living area and in favor of the dining area?

The washing machine and dryer should go into the utility room, that should fit, right!? But clearly, there won’t be much space left. Upstairs, the shower will be removed, only a bathtub should remain.

Thank you very much

You are already addressing our main problem. We are still unsure how to place the house on the plot. We have several options here but at the moment we are not yet agreed.

One version would be this one. The problem here is that since we only have the 3.50 m wide driveway onto the plot, we would have to pave a large area because of the turning radius of the cars and the access to the house.

Another alternative: garage directly facing the driveway. Then, of course, there would have to be a path from the garage to the house cutting across half of the garden.

Are there any suggestions on how we can better position the house on the plot?


: You are right, the kitchen situation with the door is not ideal. Our architect was also not happy about it but could not offer anything better. Maybe you have an idea? And what do you mean by the trapped walk-in closet? Could you please explain that again?

The partition wall in the living room should actually reach the ceiling, with the 20/30 cm then going at the expense of the living area and benefiting the dining area?

The washing machine and dryer are supposed to go into the utility room, that should fit, right!? But obviously, that doesn’t leave much space. Upstairs the shower will be removed, only a bathtub should remain.

Thank you

I would place the garage directly opposite the driveway... The house then roughly where you planned it.
The area in front of the house will then be a nice front garden. However, I would omit the pantry window, otherwise even the onions will start to mold ;)

Regarding the walk-in closet: A walk-in closet should, among other things, have the advantage that you don’t disturb anyone in the bedroom when you get your clothes. However, a trapped walk-in closet is counterproductive here, because you have to turn the light on in the bedroom again to get out. The sleeper is woken up again.

Regarding the shower: we also gave up a shower upstairs because we bathe more and there is a shower downstairs that suits both of us.
However, I now regret it, as habits and needs change.

Dining area: 2.85 m is not enough when the table is occupied with guests. You can no longer walk around the table yourself, and visitors have a hard time getting up.

: Do you mean it like that with the garage?